| “ | Waystar Royco? We do rollercosters and hate speech. | ” |
— Roman Roy[src]
| ||
Waystar Royco, formerly a publicly traded media conglomerate, is a subsidiary of Swedish technology platform company GoJo.
Profile[]
Waystar Royco (WAYA US), headquartered in New York City, is introduced as the fifth-largest media conglomerate in the world, operating in 50 countries and 4 continents. Waystar was publicly traded on the NYSE and operates multiple diversified businesses, both nationally and internationally, in the fields of Media, Entertainment, Parks/Cruises, and more. Founded by Logan Roy, it is owned and controlled mostly by the Roy family. However, in the series finale, it is acquired by GoJo in one of the biggest buyouts in history.
Known personnel[]
Current[]
- Tom Wambsgans (current CEO, former Chairman of ATN)
- Karl Muller (CFO)
- Siobhan Roy (Shareholder)
- Connor Roy (Board Member)
- Gerri Kellman (General Counsel and former CEO, briefly)
- Greg Hirsch (Executive Assistant)
- Karolina Novotney (Head of PR)
- Ragnar Magnusson (Associate)
- Phillipe Layton (Shareholder)
Former[]
- Logan Roy (former CEO)
- Frank Vernon (former COO)
- Roman Roy (former COO and temporary Co-CEO)
- Kendall Roy (former Acting CEO and temporary Co-CEO)
- Rhea Jarrell (former CEO, briefly)
Divisions[]
Broadcast networks[]
Waystar Royco owns several news companies, the most popular of which being the right-wing American Television Network (ATN). It also owns NCN and LNN. Logan Roy, during his time as CEO, also expanded into local TV stations.
Print media[]
The company controls and owns a multitude of newspapers across the world, including but not limited to: The Correspondent, The NY Globe, The Cincinnati Standard, The Chicago Daily, and The Boston Daily Express in the United States; Journal Quebecois in Canada; Les Temps de Paris in France; Deutschland Heute in Germany; The London Journal in the United Kingdom; and The Shenzen Sun in China.
Waystar Royco also owns the publishing house North Star Publishing.
Entertainment and leisure[]
Brightstar Adventure Park (also known as Brightstar Parks, Experiences, and Products) is a chain of theme parks and adjoining resorts owned and operated by Waystar Royco, with several locations in the United States and around the world. Full of attractions, carnival food, and mascots of the parks' beloved characters, the parks are well-loved by children.
Waystar Royco’s leisure division, Brightstar Cruise Lines, specializes in vacation cruises around the Caribbean. It primarily operates out of Florida. However, its alleged sexual abuse and cover-ups were the subject of extensive hearings held by the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
The company also recently announced their luxury assisted living community, Living+.
Miscellaneous[]
While little is known about this division of the company, it is apparent that Waystar also makes video games consoles. It appears that Waystar is also in the business of telecommunications and distribution, as Roman was responsible for the launch of a Japanese satellite.
Waystar also owns the Hollywood film studio Waystar Studios in Los Angeles and the content streaming platform StarGo.
History[]
Background[]
Founder and former CEO Logan Roy
Logan Roy was born into humble circumstances in Dundee, Scotland, where he would work as a newspaper boy. Following the outbreak of World War II and his father's passing, his mother sent he and his brother Ewan to live with their uncle Noah Roy in Canada. Noah and his wife owned a print shop and several advertising billboards, as well as a herd of cattle, all of which Logan and Ewan were expected to assist with. Logan claims his uncle was incredibly hard on him and physically abusive and is shown having large, deep scars on his back, implied to have been given by his uncle.
While still in Canada and desperate to escape, Logan received inheritance from his father and began his first business, an advertising company named Royco Holdings. Logan convinced his brother Ewan to invest in the business as well, but Logan would later buy his shares and take full control of the company. Logan then expanded from billboards to newspapers and merged with American newspaper company Waystar, thus forming Waystar Royco.